A Father's Love
by ArSommers
Summary: ["The Reylo Chronicles", Book 8] Poe visits Rey and her daughter; Rey converses with her daughter one night about Ben.
1. Chapter 1

Time pressed forward. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. Kylo Ren became a faded memory of the dark past, but Ben Solo continued to thrive in the hearts of those who loved him.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'll get it!" The five year old scooted off her chair and eagerly made her way towards the front of the house.

"Don't run," Rey reminded her daughter as the child opened the door.

"Mr. Poe!" Rey's daughter squealed with delight as Poe picked the girl up and spun her around.

"Miss Cela, my have you grown!" Poe said as he set her back down. "Wow, I haven't seen you three months, and now I barely recognize you!"

"Look at what Mommy did to my hair Mr. Poe!" Cela spun around to show off the three black buns on the back of her head.

"Wow," Poe said, "You look just like your mom,"

Rey came over to greet her friend. "It's good to see you," she said as she gave him a hug. "I hope the Resistance hasn't been pushing you too hard with these missions,"

Poe shrugged. "Not so hard that I couldn't stop off and get something for my favorite little Solo,"

Cela's eyes grew wide with anticipation. She'd expected this, as Poe's visits almost always came with a souvenir from his otherworldly travels.

Poe removed a small gift from a pocket in his orange and white jumpsuit. "It's a X-wing fashioned from one of the trees on Endor," he explained. "Your mom's friend Wicket carved it specially for you,"

"Wow," Cela turned the tan carving over in her hands. Then, feeling creative, Cela began to make spaceship sounds as she swooped the X-wing through in the air while she wandered into the living room.

"Knew she'd like it," Poe grinned. "Guess the love of spacecraft runs in the family, huh?"

"Definitely," Rey said, thinking of all the toy ships in Cela's collection. "How are Wicket and the Ewoks doing?"

"Very well," Poe said. "Their relations with the Resistance have greatly improved since…" Poe trailed off. He always felt a twinge of guilt whenever the topic of the circumstances surrounding Ben's capture surfaced.

"It's okay, we can talk about it," Rey reminded him. "What happened on Endor that night…happened. If Gen and I can come to terms, you and I certainly can,"

Poe and Rey simultaneously turned to look at the child playing in the living room. "She's just like her father," Rey smiled. "And it's not just his willful determination. There are times when Cela looks at me I swear I see Ben looking back. It's one of the most strange yet comforting feelings I've ever experienced,"


	3. Chapter 3

It was always a struggle to get Cela ready for bed after a guest left, particular when the visitor was Luke or Poe. Cela would constantly ask when she could go meet the Ewoks on Endor, travel to a planet filled with water, or visit one of the shining stars in the sky. "When you're a little older," Rey would always say. But this time Cela followed up with a question Rey hadn't anticipated.

"Did daddy ever visit any other plants?"

Rey took a seat on the edge of Cela's bed, trying to hide the surprise from her face. She'd always been willing to talk to her daughter about her father, save for the details surrounding the prophecy of his death, or that Ben's spirit had once visited Rey. Those were conversations that would be held in later years.

"Daddy did visit other planets," Picking up Cela's wooden X-wing from it's resting spot on the nightstand, Rey said, "You remember how Mr. Poe said this was carved from a tree on Endor?" Cela nodded. "Ben- I mean, your dad- and I lived there for a while. We use to lie on the grass at night and watch the stars sparkle in the sky,"

Cela's eyes grew wide with amazement. "You would go outside? In the dark? Was it scary?"

Rey smiled. "It was hard to be scared of anything when your father was around. But no, the darkness wasn't scary. It was actually quite peaceful. One day we'll travel to Endor and you can meet the Ewoks. I know my friend Wicket will be very excited to meet you,"

"I wish I could meet daddy," Cela said.

Rey felt a pang of sadness. Cela was one of the few children in the daycare without a father. Where most children would introduce both a mother and father, Cela only had Rey. She must have had another encounter like this the other day.

"Hey you," Rey leaned down and gave her daughter a hug, which Cela was all too happy to return. It never ceased to amaze Rey the strength she could garner from such a simple gesture. "Your father loves you very much," Rey said. "And he loves me. I know this is hard to understand, but even though we can't see him, he's always with us. And no matter what happens we'll always be a family,"

Rey needed to hear these words as much as her daughter did. There were many times she'd felt lost or alone, but she always thought back to the words Ben had spoken:

" _Promise you'll be strong for both of us."_

And so Rey was. Every day.

Everything had changed without Ben, but Rey could not spend the rest of her days mourning his loss. Her husband had become one with the Force, like countless men and women who had gone before him. Time and love continually moved forward, and so must she.

"Now," Rey said as she leaned over to the shelf beside Cela's bed, "How about we read a story?"

After reading a short book to settle Cela down for the evening, Rey kissed her sleeping daughter on the forehead. "Goodnight my love," Rey whispered as she turned out the light. "And may the Force be with you always,"

The End

[I want to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to all who have read this series. Your views, reviews, and everything in between are the reason I keep posting fan fiction :)

If you are interested in reading the alternate ending to this series, you can view it under the title "Shared Destinies"]


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